Crossings

(Please click on the title for a reading aloud by the author.)

It’s about 8:45 AM and I’m driving into town to do errands. The experiences we have, moment by moment, are formed by a seemingly endless web of little causes and effects building on one another, and… Near the intersection of Routes 14 and 599 I notice an old pickup truck going the other way, stacked with firewood and with the cable which usually holds the spare tire up under the frame dangling below. I think to myself they’re taking a chance carrying that load with no spare.

Further up the road a faded red Toyota Four Runner with mismatched tail lights catches my attention. The taillight on the driver’s side is a clear aftermarket type, the one on the passenger side is stock. My friend Mario had a Four Runner just like this one and put clear tail lights on it. Then he sold it. I wonder if this used to be his vehicle.

I’m having a coffee at Counter Culture and notice a woman, she is petite, attractive, and wears a green leotard top with a very low cut back.

I then go to the gas station and fill the tank, then to the grocery store. In the grocery store I notice a woman I saw at yoga class a few weeks ago. Then I see the woman in the leotard top. On my way out of town I see the red Four Runner with the mismatched tail lights and when I’m not far from home I see the old pickup with the dangling cable.

The thinkers at the Santa Fe Institute pay attention to complexity theories. When presented with stories ending, “and what are the chances of that happening???” one reply is: “You’re driving along some particular section of highway and see a particular car going the other way with a particular license plate… what are the chances of that happening?” The implication is the chance of anything happening is quite small and it’s only the significance we place upon certain occurrences which make some seem particularly so.

But four second crossings of paths? In one morning? Maybe it’s just a small town, but it leaves me wondering what’s going on.

Gordon Bunker